MKO terrorists must be returned to Iran: Larijani

Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani (R) meets with head of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council Medhat al-Mahmoud in Tehran on May 18, 2014.

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Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani has called on Iraq to extradite members of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) to the Islamic Republic to face trial.

During a Sunday meeting with visiting head of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council Medhat al-Mahmoud in Tehran, Amoli Larijani pointed to the crimes perpetrated by the MKO members against the Iranian nation, saying these terrorists have admitted to being behind the assassination of senior Iranian figures.

“These people (MKO terrorists) must be extradited and stand fair trial within the framework of the judiciary system,” added the senior Iranian official.

The MKO fled Iran in 1986 for Iraq, where it received the backing of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein and set up a camp near the Iranian border. The terrorist group also sided with Saddam during Iraq’s eight-year war on the Islamic Republic in 1980-1988.

The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community and is notorious for committing numerous terrorist acts against Iranians and Iraqis.

The Iranian Judiciary chief further underscored “deep-rooted” cultural and religious bonds between Iranian and Iraqi nations and stressed that Iran-Iraq ties are “beyond a mere common border.”

He also congratulated Iraq on the recent parliamentary elections in the country, saying, despite western support for the terrorists operating in Iraq, the resolve of the Iraqi nation and government will overcome the problems.

Mahmoud, for his part, hailed old-age relations between Iran and Iraq, saying even the eight-year war on the Islamic Republic during the Saddam era could not hinder ties between the two neighboring states.

During their talks, Amoli Larijani and Mahmoud also exchanged views on the further enhancement of judicial cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad.